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INSEAD’s Inaugural Climate Summit

The Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society

INSEAD’s Inaugural Climate Summit

INSEAD’s Inaugural Climate Summit

INSEAD Environment & Business Club and the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society collaborated and brought together industry leaders and climate experts to educate INSEAD students and alumni on core aspects of the energy transition.

Climate is the largest driver of change in our landscape today and will play a massive role in setting the stage for future business. This topic is a global one, and will require all cultures, industries and governments to work together in order to achieve wins and mitigate losses. INSEAD’s MBA programme is well-positioned to grasp this problem however, our students can only do so with a clear set of climate fundamentals.

 

"The energy transition is an industrial revolution happening again. If you don't invest in green technologies, you won't benefit" – Julian Critchlow (Bain)

 

To solve for this, at the start of the programme for the new class graduating in June 2023, the INSEAD Environment & Business Club organised an inaugural climate summit in partnership with the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society. The summit’s goal was to bring together industry leaders and climate experts to educate INSEAD students and alumni on core aspects of the energy transition. And believe us, it did. The two-day event took place on our campuses in Fontainebleau and Singapore, offering local takes on impact and sustainability to an audience of over 350.

 

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Why the summit was a critical turning point in the school’s climate education offering:

  • Timing: Earning an education around climate fundamentals can help students gear up for future lessons in core classes and sustainability electives. For this reason, the event topics were launched in the first weeks of the 2023 class’s MBA schedule. With an appropriate primer on climate topics and metrics, we hope that students will be able to better engage with ESG cases and examples which are interspersed into other parts of the curriculum.
  • Breadth and simplicity: Climate change is for everyone, whether you are a tree-hugger or a traditional investment banking analyst. Without understanding the simplest fundamentals (that is, climate science and core ESG metrics), one cannot integrate the financial risks and opportunities of climate change into the day-to-day activities. The summit aimed to give each attendee a toolkit to then tackle this work within their respective sectors.
  • Scope: The club carefully selected its invited speakers from the Hoffmann Institute, Bain, BCG, BlackRock and Antler, in order to strategically appeal to the “non-impact” audience in addition to its impact-oriented followers. The event strategy was driven by the club’s desire to bring climate into mainstream decision-making of all individuals, and the Hoffmann Institute’s aim to serve as a resource for students engaging with impact in their careers.
  • Careers: From the session, attendees left with an understanding of the respective roles that each of us can play in the climate battle through our work and education. The club created a clear set of next steps in a Notion platform which is accessible by all students. With this follow-up in the summit’s closing remarks, the audience was left with clear and actionable ways to get involved.

 

"Companies are struggling on their way to net zero. High-quality ESG data and advanced analytics are required to succeed" – Francesco Bellino (BCG)

 

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What were the key highlights?

  • Climate science is setting a bleak stage but we can work together to mitigate the most disastrous effects of climate change through business as a force for good.
  • Pricing and valuation of companies are in flux as climate starts to integrate into risk assumptions and opportunities of both public and private businesses.
  • Data and standardisation are playing a growing role as policymakers begin to set rules around disclosure and certification.
  • Quantified impact has the chance to drive real change as access to data and analytics increases transparency across impact products and supply chains.
  • Each sector has a role to play across financial services, corporate stakeholders, shareholder voting and policy.

 

"Energy transition is the most significant transformation of the world economy. We have to pull all levers to decarbonize: energy efficiency, electrification, clean power, and carbon-free fuels. Finally, we need to find a way to reach negative emissions" – Laura Segafredo (BlackRock)

 

What should we do now?

Today, the focus for students is on what climate and impact mean for their jobs. Questions like how to integrate climate in their investment portfolios, and how to account for embedding business activities into nature are also top of mind. As more and more people talk about climate change and decarbonisation, our actions must match our rhetoric. Together we should be doing much more, and the INSEAD Environment & Business Club believes that a continued education will support these goals. While playing respective roles in our society, the club urges members and alumni to think about these themes in tangible ways for example, when analysing risk assumptions in an NPV, or Net Present Value, model, launching a new product, analysing consumption parameters, or advocating for reporting. On our side, the summit will continue in the future and we welcome suggestions from our alumni on topics to include.

 

To view the sessions, visit:

Inaugural Climate Summit – Fontainebleau

Inaugural Climate Summit – Singapore

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